Something In The Way She Moves
by WretchedOne
Summary: Listening to his father playing a James Taylor song on the guitar causes Arthur to think about his friend, ally, and partner Suzy Turquoise Blue. Sort of a companion to my story Smile. THIS IS NOT A ROMANCE FIC!


This songfic is dedicated to James Taylor, whose excellent song "Something In The Way She Moves" was the inspiration for this story, and is the song this songfic is based on. The lyrics are in quotes and italics. Please review, and enjoy my very first songfic! -WretchedOne**

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**Something in the way she moves**

The sound of guitar strings being plucked floated in from the living room and into the kitchen, where Arthur Penhaligon was making himself a sandwich. He smiled as he resealed the mayonnaise jar. His dad Bob must be fulfilling his Sunday tradition of spending an hour reclining on the soft pillows of the chesterfield, playing his acoustic guitar (a very good quality Yamaha).

He recognized the tune as the intro continued playing. Bob often played this particular James Taylor song for Arthur's mother Emily, and after so many times of hearing it, Arthur had come to recognize the sound in a matter of seconds.

Unbidden, an image emerged in Arthur's mind's eye, an image that had never presented itself before during one of his father's Sunday sessions. Of course, that was because the last time he'd heard this song was right before his first experience with the eerie House, epicenter of the universe. He had not yet met one of the greatest friends he would ever acquire.

The apparition was a smallish girl wearing several shirts and a large, dirty, and lumpy burgundy overcoat. She had a sharp diamond shaped face, and a grin that split her face and made her dark navy eyes sparkle. Atop her dark-haired head sat a decrepit, scruffy, beat-up top hat with a deep dent in the crown.

_"There's something in the way she moves"_

Suzy Turquoise Blue did not walk. She bounced, marched, ran, climbed, and (whenever she could get her hands on a set of wings) flew, but she did not walk sedately. Suzy did everything with gusto. She could brighten a room by just walking into it and exposing it to her energetic aura. Arthur had to laugh at how corny that sounded, but it was true.

_"Or looks my way or calls my name_

_That seems to leave this troubled world behind"_

Arthur could hear Suzy's voice in his head, could hear her cheerfully greeting him, "Hi there, Artie" and his aggrieved tone replying, "Don't call me Artie!"He heardher calling out "Arthur?" in shock as he attempted to clobber her in the Far Reaches, mistaking her for a Nithling. After guessing at her identity, he remembered herthe laugh in her voice as she said "'Course it is, stupid! Who were you expecting?" he heard her telling him excitedly behind the rack of spears before the attack on the Nothing Spike in the great maze, "Arthur, I've got the pocket!"

Suzy's conviction had a way of convincing others, especially Arthur. Her voice made him feel confident. It reminded him that he had allies; he was going to get this job done. And Suzy would be beside him as many steps of the way as she could manage. That was the brave, loyal Suzy that he knew.

_"If I'm feeling down or blue_

_Or troubled by some foolish game_

_She always seems to make me change my mind" _

He remembered her saying "Just being optimistic. You should try it sometime. Doesn't hurt". That was Suzy: never discouraged, never downcast, always saying "well, it could be worse". It was always him who was pessimistic, who entertained the possibility of giving up. Not Suzy: if something was entrusted into Arthur's hands, she was confident that it would end up done. He was often grateful for her confidence in him; without it, he might have given up long ago.

_"I feel fine any time_

_She's around me, now _

_She's around me now _

_Just about all the time _

_If I'm well, you can tell _

_That she's been with me now _

_She's been with me now _

_Quite a long time _

_And I feel fine" _

It was always heartening to have her around, thought Arthur as he bit into his sandwich and his father in the living roomlaunched into the chorus. Not only was she a great influence on his morale, she'd saved him physically from Nithlings, Feverfew the pirate, and innumerable other dangers.

And she certainly had been with him quite a long time. Even if it was only a few weeks in earth time, it was years in House time. Besides, after all that had happened a few weeks seemed like a lot longer. Truth be told, he could no longer really imagine his life without Suzy in it.

_" Every now and then_

_The things I lean on lose their meaning _

_And I find myself careening _

_Into places where I should not let me go" _

That's me, all right, thought Arthur, gnawing his crust. 'It's too much; I can't do it. Why not just give up, give Tuesday the key, give Superior Saturday the keys, let the House spiral into the mess its inhabitants have created, caught up in politics and controversy and power struggles.'

"_She has the power to go _

_Where no one else can find me_

_And to silently remind me _

_Of the happiness _

_And good times that I know" _

Suzy Blue herself was a good enough reason to persevere. Arthur would not want Suzy to be caught in the freakish mess that the house had become. She was only there because of that terrible Piper, who needed entertainment and therefore decided to nab a few kids off of Earth, like the Secondary Realms were toy chests that he could take toys out of anytime he wished. As well, looking at or thinking of Suzy often made him think of his family, and how much he wanted things to be good for them. Yes, Suzy certainly did have the power to keep him going.

_"It isn't what she's got to say_

_Or how she thinks or where she's been _

_To me the words are nice, the way they sound" _

She wasn't demure, she wasn't as obedient as the Dame Primus would like, her grammar wasn't fantastic, and she never bothered about her appearance. She was just Suzy. Just Suzy was more than enough for Arthur; he'd prefer her disheveled and full of daredevil spirit than calm and clean any day.

_"I like to hear them best that way _

_It doesn't much matter what they mean _

_For she says them mostly just to calm me down"_

Arthur remembered Suzy chattering about her quest to help him while they stood on the train tracks in the Far Reaches. He remembered her filling him in on all that had been happening in the House as they sat in the passenger section of the _Rattus Balaena_. He remembered her sticking up for him during the contest with Grim Tuesday, even though she barely believed her own words. He remembered the many times she'd said, "I'm coming with you Arthur."

Some people (including Arthur, occasionally) would consider the boy to have the worst luck possible, what with being thrust into the role of savior of the House and having incredible burdens put on him without his consent. Others (including Arthur, occasionally) would say that had he not been shoved into the mess of the House, Suzy and Monday's Noon and his other friends and allies would not have entered his life.

I suppose I can be grateful for that, thought Arthur. Yes, I can, and should, definitely be grateful for meeting Suzy Blue.

And I am.

_"I feel fine any time_

_She's around me, now _

_She's around me now _

_Almost all the time _

_If I'm well you can tell _

_That she's been with me, now_

_She's been with me now _

_Quite a long_

_Long time _

_Yes, and I feel fine." _

Wow, thought Arthur, as the last note of the song faded. James Taylor certainly knew what he was talking about.

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End file.
